Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series The Flash (2014–2023) as part of the Arrowverse and as Sebastian Smythe on the Fox series Glee. Trained in musical theater, his first major credit was as part of the 2010 national tour of West Side Story; he returned to theater in the original Broadway production of Water for Elephants, originating the starring role of Jacob Jankowski.
Early life Thomas Grant Gustin was born on January 14, 1990, in Norfolk, Virginia. He is the son of Tina Haney, a pediatric nurse, and Thomas Gustin, a college professor.Elon University During his high school years, he attended the Governor's School for the Arts program in Norfolk for musical theater. He also went to Hurrah Players Incorporated which is a theater organization in Virginia. In 2008, he graduated from Granby High School and went on to attend the BFA Music Theater Program at Elon University in North Carolina for two years. He has been a friend of actor Chris Wood since college.
Career Gustin's first known screen role came while he was still in high school in the film Rain (2004). In this student film, by director/producer Neil Grochmal, during his studies at Regent University. Gustin plays a young mute who dreams of a man's tragic loss of his wife in a robbery, then later crosses paths with the man, stirring visions that help the man solve the mystery of who murdered his wife. Grochmal said Gustin showed raw talent and figured the youngster would be a future achiever in acting.
In 2010, Gustin left school to take the role of Baby John in the Broadway Revival Tour of West Side Story, and performed with the tour from its opening on September 30, 2010, through September 23, 2011.
Glee
On November 8, 2011, he debuted on the television series Glee as Sebastian Smythe, an openly gay member of the Dalton Academy Warblers. Gustin won the recurring role of Sebastian, a promiscuous and scheming character, after "an exhaustive, weeks-long casting search". He originally auditioned for a background role as a tap dancer but did not get the part. However, Ryan Murphy kept him in mind. He began filming the role early on Monday, September 26, 2011, after having finished his final West Side Story performance the previous Friday night. In January 2012, Naya Rivera (as her character Santana Lopez) and Gustin (as Smythe) performed "Smooth Criminal" as a duet in the season three episode "Michael", backed by musical duo 2Cellos. The song was filmed in a similar environment as the 2Cellos music video, in a room surrounded by empty chairs as the two musicians play. This cover debuted and peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 10 on the Billboard Digital Songs, and number 28 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart during the week of February 18, 2012.
In 2012, Gustin began filming A Mother's Nightmare, an original film for the Lifetime network, in late May. The project also stars actresses Annabeth Gish and Jessica Lowndes and was shot in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. On July 11, 2012, it was announced that Gustin had landed a major role in the independent film Affluenza.
The Flash In 2013, Gustin was offered the role of Barry Allen in the second season of Arrow. He was initially supposed to appear in three episodes, the last one serving as the backdoor pilot for a potential spin-off Flash series. However, the backdoor pilot plan was dropped in favor of a standalone pilot, titled The Flash. The pilot was picked up with an initial order of thirteen episodes, and the series premiered on October 7, 2014, with 4.8 million viewers, the most for a premiere on The CW in five years. With 184 episodes aired across nine seasons in total, The Flash concluded on May 24, 2023. As part of the greater Arrowverse, Gustin reprised his role as Allen on Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, as well as the web series Vixen.
Additional roles Gustin starred in William H. Macy's film Krystal, which premiered in 2017 at the Virginia Film Festival and was released on April 13, 2018, by Great Point Media and Paladin In March 2020, Gustin was cast in Operation Blue Eyes as Barry Keenan. Gustin made his Broadway debut in February 2024 in the original production of Water for Elephants, originating the starring role of Jacob Jankowski. He left the cast in September of the same year.
Personal life Gustin announced his engagement to Andrea "LA" Thoma on April 29, 2017, and they married on December 15, 2018. They have two children: a daughter born in 2021 and a son born in 2024.
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes 2003 Kid Fitness Jungle Adventure Exercise Video Club Fit Kid Direct-to-video 2004 Rain Logan 2014 Affluenza Todd Goodman 2017 Krystal Campbell Ogburn 2018 Tom and Grant Grant Short film 2022 Rescued by Ruby Daniel O'Neil 2023 Puppy Love Max Stevenson TBA Operation Blue Eyes Barry Keenan Rooster TBA Post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes 2006 Thomas Episode: "Hungry Ghosts" 2011–2013 Glee Sebastian Smythe Recurring role; 7 episodes 2012 CSI: Miami Scott Ferris / Trent Burton Episode: "Terminal Velocity" Chris Stewart Television film 2013 90210 Campbell Price Recurring role; 8 episodes 2013–2020 Arrow Barry Allen / The Flash Recurring role; 14 episodes 2014–2023 The Flash Lead role; 184 episodes 2016–2019 Supergirl 5 episodes 2016–2020 Legends of Tomorrow 5 episodes (2 voice, 3 live) 2019 Batwoman Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two" 2023 Titans Episode: "Dude, Where's My Gar?"
Web
Year Title Role Notes 2015–2016 Vixen Barry Allen / The Flash Voice; 8 episodes
Theater Year Title Role Notes 2010 All Shook Up Dean Hyde Regional 2010–2011 West Side Story Baby John Broadway revival national tour 2024 Gutenberg! The Musical! The Producer Broadway one night cameo gutenberg Water for Elephants Jacob Jankowski Original Broadway production
Discography
Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumAUSCANPeak chart positions for singles in Canada: "Smooth Criminal" and "Bad": "Uptown Girl": "Glad You Came": IRL"Smooth Criminal": UKPeak positions for singles in the United Kingdom: "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal": "Uptown Girl": USPeak chart positions for singles in the United States: "Smooth Criminal" and "Bad": "Uptown Girl": "Glad You Came": "Uptown Girl" 2011 — 93 — 140 68 Glee: The Music, Volume 7"Bad"2012 — 90 — 193 80Glee: The Music, The Complete Season Three"Smooth Criminal" with Naya Rivera (featuring 2Cellos) 59 28 46 86 26"I Want You Back" — — — — —"Stand" — — — — —"Glad You Came" — 74 — — 90"Live While We're Young" — — — — — Glee: The Music, Season 4, Volume 1"Super Friend" with Melissa Benoist2017 — — — — —The Flash – Music from the Special Episode: Duet"Runnin’ Home to You" — — — — — "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
Awards and nominations + Award Year Category Nominated work Result Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards2024Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male)Water for Elephants Merrily We Roll Along, The Great Gatsby and More Win Big at 2024 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards Critics' Choice Super Awards 2021 Best Actor in a Superhero Series The Flash 2023 Best Actor in a Superhero Series The Flash iHeartRadio Music Awards 2025 Favorite Broadway Debut Water for Elephants IGN Awards 2014 Best TV Hero The Flash 2015 Best TV Hero The Flash IGN People's Choice Awards 2014 Best TV Hero The Flash 2015 Best TV Hero The Flash Kids' Choice Awards 2015 Favorite TV Actor The Flash 2016 Favorite Male TV Star — Family Show The Flash 2018 Favorite TV Actor The Flash 2019 Favorite Male TV Star The Flash MTV Movie & TV Awards 2017 Best Hero The Flash 2018 Best Hero The Flash Poppy Awards 2015 Best Actor, Drama The Flash Saturn Awards 2015 Breakthrough Performance The Flash Best Actor on Television The Flash 2016 Best Actor on Television The Flash 2017 Best Actor on Television The Flash 2019 Best Actor on a Television Series The Flash 2021 Best Actor on a Television Series The Flash SFX Awards 2015 Best Actor The Flash Teen Choice Awards 2015 Choice TV – Breakout Star The Flash Choice TV – Chemistry The Flash Choice TV – Liplock The Flash 2016 Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi The Flash Choice TV: Chemistry The Flash Choice TV: Liplock The Flash 2017 Choice Action TV Actor The Flash Choice TV Villain The Flash 2018 Choice Action TV Actor The Flash Choice TV Ship The Flash 2019 Choice Action TV Actor The Flash
References
External links